Apparatus for transporting printing paper rolls

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for transporting printing paper rolls includes a main frame and a satellite frame. The main frame is movable in a first direction along a press, either on its own or together with the satellite frame. The satellite frame is movable in a second direction, approximately perpendicular to the first direction, and independently of the main frame. A lifting device is arranged in the main frame to lift the satellite frame accommodated in the main frame off a floor. The lifting device is constructed such that a satellite frame can be lifted by the main frame to a level above a satellite frame positioned on the floor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an apparatus for transporting printing paper rolls.

DE 196 06 554 C1 discloses an apparatus for transporting printing paper rolls which comprises a main frame and a satellite frame. The main frame can be moved along a press together with a satellite frame. The satellite frame can be moved out of the main frame and can be moved independently of the main frame in a direction which runs at right angles to the direction of movement of the main frame. With the aid of the satellite frame, a printing paper roll can be picked up from a roll store, a printing paper roll picked up in the satellite frame being moved in the direction of the press with the aid of the main frame. According to DE 196 06 554 C1, the main frame has a lifting device in order to lift a satellite frame accommodated in the main frame off a floor or set it down on the same. In the state in which the satellite frame is lifted slightly off the floor, the main frame can be moved along the press together with the satellite frame. The apparatus disclosed by DE 196 06 554 C1 permits the handling of printing paper rolls in only one story or at only one level, specifically at the level of the floor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel type of apparatus for transporting printing paper rolls.

The object is met by an apparatus for transporting printing paper rolls including a main frame and a satellite frame that is movable independently of the main frame, wherein a lifting device is arranged in the main-frame and dimensioned such that a satellite frame can be lifted by a main frame from a first position in which the satellite frame is positioned on the floor to a second position in which the satellite frame is at a level or a story above the satellite frame at the first position.

The apparatus according to the present invention for transporting printing paper rolls permits handling of the printing paper rolls in what is known as a second story, in such a way that printing paper rolls can be stored and handled one above another. For this purpose, the apparatus according to the present invention for transporting printing paper rolls cooperates with a storage frame for printing paper rolls, on which the satellite frame can be moved in a level above a floor. By means of the main frame, the satellite frame can be lifted to the second level or the second story, starting from the floor. This makes it possible to use the space available in a print shop optimally for the storage of printing paper rolls.

The lifting device preferably has lifting platforms on both sides of the main frame, which are mounted via lifting frames on beams of the main frame which run vertically, the lifting platforms positioned on both sides of the main frame being constructed such that they can be lifted and lowered in the vertical direction together with the lifting frames, and it being possible for the lifting platforms to be moved in the horizontal direction with respect to the lifting frames in a position lifted off the floor.

The lifting platforms positioned on both sides of the main frame can firstly be lifted and lowered synchronously and, secondly, can be moved synchronously in the horizontal direction. The synchronization is carried out by a control device.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an apparatus according to the present invention for transporting printing paper rolls;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus according to FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus according to FIGS. 1 and 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 to 3 show in different views a transport apparatus 10 according to the present invention for printing paper rolls, which comprises a main frame 11 and a satellite frame 12. The main frame 11 can be moved in a first direction 13 along a press, not illustrated, it being possible for the main frame 11 to be moved on a floor 15 via running wheels 14 for this purpose. The main frame 11 can be moved in the direction 13 either on its own or together with a satellite frame 12 accommodated in the main frame 11, the satellite frame 12 having to be lifted slightly off the floor 15 when the main frame 11 is to be moved together with a satellite frame 12.

The satellite frame 12 can be moved in a second direction 16 independently of the main frame 11, the second direction 16 running approximately at right angles to the direction of movement 13 of the main frame 11.

The present invention relates to a specific configuration of the main frame 11 with which a satellite frame 12 known from the prior art can be moved, lifted and lowered. The satellite frame 12, which is known from the prior art and which will not be described in detail here, is illustrated by dash-dotted lines in FIGS. 1 to 3.

The main frame 11, which will be described in detail in the following text, is shown in continuous lines in FIGS. 1 to 3.

The main frame 11 has a frame 17 which is formed by beams running horizontally and beams running vertically. In the preferred exemplary embodiment, two vertical beams 18 in each case run on both sides of a satellite frame 12 accommodated in the main frame 11 and are connected to each other firstly on a rear of the main frame 11 by beams 19 running horizontally and, secondly, on both sides of the same, by beams 20 running horizontally. The beams 19 accordingly run horizontally on the rear, at which the main frame 11 adjoins a press, not illustrated, but, on the other hand, the main frame 11 is open on an opposite front side.

According to the present invention, the main frame 11 has a lifting device 21 which is constructed in such a way that a satellite frame 12 accommodated in the main frame 11 can be lifted to a level above a satellite frame 11 positioned on the floor 15. Thus, FIG. 3 shows in dash-dotted lines two satellite frames 12, the satellite frame 12 having been set down on the floor and the satellite frame 12′ having been lifted in such a way that it is positioned completely above the satellite frame 12. By using the transport apparatus 10 according to the invention and the main frame 11 of the same, a printing paper roll or satellite frame 12 can accordingly be lifted to a second story, to store or to handle printing paper rolls one above another. Thus, FIG. 3 shows in schematic form a beam 22 of a storage frame for printing paper rolls, on which printing paper rolls can be stored one above another.

The lifting device 21 comprises lifting platforms 23, which are mounted via lifting frames 24 on the vertical beams 19 of the frame 17 of the main frame 11. On both sides of a satellite frame 12 accommodated in the main frame 11 (see FIG. 1), in each case there is positioned a lifting platform 23, onto which the satellite frame 12 can be moved. The lifting platforms 23 can be lifted and lowered in the vertical direction along the beam 18 together with the lifting frames 24, in each case lifting cylinders 25 acting on the lifting frames 24 in order to lift and lower the lifting platforms 23. The lifting cylinders 25 cooperate with a lifting chain 26 in each case and move the lifting platforms 23 together with the lifting frames 24 in the vertical direction. A control device, not illustrated, ensures that the lifting platforms 23 are lifted and lowered synchronously together with the lifting frames 24.

Within the meaning of the present invention, not only can the lifting platforms 23 together with the lifting frames 24 be lifted and lowered in the vertical direction but, moreover, they can also be moved in the horizontal direction with respect to the lifting frames 24. Thus, FIG. 3 shows that, in the lifted state, the lifting platforms 23 can be moved out of the main frame 11 with respect to the lifting frames 24, in order in this way to make it possible for the satellite frame 12 to be moved onto a second story of the storage frame for printing paper rolls. To ensure the ability to move in the horizontal direction, the lifting platforms 23 are fixed to the lifting frames 24 via guide rails 27. The movement of the lifting platforms 23 in the horizontal direction relative to the lifting frames 24 is again carried out synchronously via the control device, not illustrated.

Accordingly, within the meaning of the present invention, a transport apparatus 10 for printing paper rolls is proposed with the aid of which a satellite frame 12 can be moved in the vertical direction to a second story with the aid of a main frame 11. This makes it possible to move the satellite frame 12 to a level such that the same is located completely above a satellite frame positioned on a floor 15. In interplay with a suitable storage frame for printing paper rolls, it is then possible to store printing paper rolls one above another at two levels or in two storys.

In order to provide the ability to move the satellite frame 12 vertically, the main frame 11 has a lifting device 21 which comprises lifting platforms 23, onto which a satellite frame 12 can be moved. The lifting platforms 23 are mounted via lifting frames 24 on beams 18 running vertically and can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction via the lifting frames 24. Furthermore, the lifting platforms 23 can be moved out of the main frame 11 in the horizontal direction with respect to the lifting frames 24.

As already mentioned, the horizontal beams 19 of the frame 17 of the main frame 11 run only on the rear of the main frame 11, namely on the side of the same facing a press. On the other hand, no such beams 19 run on the front side, so that the main frame 11 is completely open on the front side. This makes it possible to move the lifting platforms 23 undisturbed out of the main frame 11 in the horizontal direction, in the illustration shown in FIG. 3, without any obstructive beams on the front side. This makes it possible to provide a low overall height for the main frame 11. Given a sufficient ceiling height in a print shop in which the transport apparatus 10 according to the invention is to be installed, it is even possible to design the main frame 11 to be higher overall and in this way to move the lifting platforms 23 out of the main frame 11 in the horizontal direction both on the front side and on the rear of the same.

Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto. 

1. An apparatus for transporting printing paper rolls in a press, comprising: a main frame and a satellite frame, said main frame being movable in a first direction along the press with or without said satellite frame, said satellite frame being movable in a second direction approximately perpendicular to said first direction, independently of said main frame; and a lifting device in said main frame, said lifting device being arranged and dimensioned for lifting the satellite frame, when said satellite frame is accommodated in said main frame, from a first position in which said satellite frame is on a floor beneath said main frame to a second position in which said satellite frame is at a level above said satellite frame in the first position.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said main frame comprises vertical beams, said lifting device being lifted and lowered in the vertical direction along said vertical beams of said main frame.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said lifting device includes lifting platforms arranged on both sides of said satellite frame for receiving said satellite frame thereon when said satellite frame is accommodated in said main frame.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising lifting cylinders connected in said main frame between said main frame and respective ones of said lifting platforms for lifting and lowering said lifting platforms.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein main frame comprises vertical beams and lifting frames arranged on said vertical beams, said lifting platforms are mounted via said lifting frames on said vertical beams.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein main frame comprises vertical beams and lifting frames arranged on said vertical beams, said lifting platforms are mounted via said lifting frames on said vertical beams, wherein said lifting cylinders act on said lifting frames.
 7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said lifting platforms are synchronously raised and lowered.
 8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said lifting platforms are also movable in a horizontal direction.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the lifting platforms are synchronously movable in the horizontal direction.
 10. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said lifting platforms are lifted and lowered in the vertical direction together with said lifting frames, and said lifting platforms are movable in a horizontal direction with respect to said lifting frames when the satellite frame is lifted off the floor beneath said main frame. 